Application software is a computer-executable program that directs a computer (e.g., personal computer, tablet computer, smartphone, etc.) to perform useful tasks for the benefit of the end user of the computer. Typically, application software is not involved in merely operating the computer itself. Individual application software packages are often called simply an application or an app.
Typically, an app has a user interface (UI) that allows a user (i.e., human) to interact with an application and the computer/network associated with that application. Many apps have a graphical user interface (i.e., graphical UI or GUI), which is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and visual indicators.
A GUI includes UI control objects, which may be called UI controls or UI elements. Examples of UI controls include buttons, lists, and text fields. UI controls are commonly used for organizing content displayed in the GUI, for providing a mechanism for user navigation and input, for notifying about app status change, and/or other such events and actions. A collection or composite of UI controls may be called a UI component herein.
In a typical UI, a list UI component includes many possible options and functions. When a list UI component is created, the UI designer or programmer has to make many UI design choices for the list UI component. For example, the list UI component may be arranged in various ways (e.g., horizontal or vertical); include other nested lists; and designed to accept and respond to particular user input/selections. Traditionally, the UI designer must manually program each list UI component for each instance in each application.
The Detailed Description references the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components.